I am a little piece of all of us. Un pedacito de nosotros

The starting premise for my personal philosophy is: Soy un pedacito de nosotros (I am a little piece of all of us). Others have said it before:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every
man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. - John Donne

There is no they, only us - bumper sticker

I is another. - Arthur Rimbaud

Me.
We. Muhammad
Ali

It is clear
to me that I is others and others am me. The idea that others are different
from me is an illusion; I am irredeemably the same as them. I, you, us: we are transitory manifestations
of the cumulative effect of a glorious, constantly evolving genetic and
cultural pool. Biology says it,
anthropology says it, religion says it, but we generally forget.

I know I am a we.

Conjoined twins, we get in each other's way as we hobble forward.

Many heads, twice as many feet and hands, multiple consciousnesses, one
heart. One infinite reality.

Triplets. Sextuplets. N-uplets.

We are willows stretching, competing for light, all dependent on the
same roots.

We are unalike, my soul mate-burdens and me

Few are male, white or old. But we all are me.

Each me unknowable except for the melodious songs and the malodorous
shit we produce.

We are a united tribe of squabbling, leaderless, lost, interlocked
strangers,

A transcending
humanity.

We are each
one of 86 billion interacting, interdependent neurons, each a retinal cell
contributing a pixel.

I know I'm a we.

I pray to the only god I can know, the we-god, created by us in our own
image.

I pray to be more than always solitary near to others, to always be
alone together.

We are the massive indivisible invisible mycelial mat, there are no independent
mushrooms.

I pray for my muses, all intent on their own lives. Even if my muses
will not nurture me, I long to care for them. Their inattention is my
inspiration. My prayer is for them, my muses. I know I'm a we.

I know I am a we.

Will we miss me when I'm gone?

I won't.

'Un pedacito
de nosotros' is a compelling and appealing literary and philosophical concept.
But this phrase has special power when seen through the lens of evolutionary
biologists. I am the result of millions of reproductively successful
individuals who have preceded me. While what I am is circumscribed by this
surviving collection of accidents, I am much more than my genetic/epigenetic
code. I am intimately related to and dependent on all my nearly genetically
identical contemporaries. And the culture that has resulted from the intergenerational
contributions and interactions of millions of previous cousins gives each of us
shared identities and possibilities.

The concept
of pedacito de nosotros is consistent
with a definition of humans as social primates who are interrelated, interdependent
tribal individuals, part of a constantly evolving gene pool and the creators
and consequences of a shared culture. It is not consistent with the concept of
humans as independent, solitary, rational, selfish entities. The currently
dominant sociopolitical philosophy that has exalted individualism - while
crucial to liberate us from the imposed regimentation and authoritarian control
of the past - debilitates us through isolation and makes it impossible for us
to become fully-human-in-union.

My mind is
not in my brain. My brain is part of a shared mind. I access and I depend on
that shared mind. And my brain contributes to that evolving, expanding mind.
Everything I think is what I have heard, learned and received from others
reconfigured by me.

The scientist is truly a 'pedacito de nosotros'. Science
works because it is based on the model of the collective mind. It presupposes
and requires checks and balances, and synergies. Art, too, advances collectively even if artists refuse
to acknowledge that the group's progress overshadows the importance of
individual genius or authenticity.

We are told
to look inward to find our deepest answers. I am not convinced. I prefer to look
to us for answers. It is in the collective construction of meaning that
I come to something better than I can get by myself. It is in interaction with
others, playing off their thoughts and reactions that I discover my (and really
our) real ideas, needs and understanding. Point-counterpoint, harmony, call and
response; it is us, not me. It is in speaking AND listening to others with an
open and inquisitive mind that I find what is really authentic in me.